Lisa Ono was born in
São Paulo, Brazil, in 1962 but moved with her family to
Tokyo at the age of 10. Although she lived in Brazil for only a short time, she was turned into a type of "MPB (
Brazilian popular music) ambassador" in Japan, influenced by her father, who owned a club while living in Brazil and was also
Baden Powell's agent. Lisa began singing and playing the guitar at age 15 and her debut as a professional Bossa Nova singer was in 1989. Her natural voice, rhythmic guitar playing, and her charming smile led her to a huge success and popularized Bossa Nova in Japan. She has performed with many top musicians such as
Antônio Carlos Jobim and
João Donato and has been performing enthusiastically in New York City, Brazil and Asian countries. The 1999 album
Dream sold more than two hundred thousand copies in Japan and since then she has established a determined position in the Japanese Bossa Nova community. == Career ==